


Fanfiction isn't Cheap - it's Art at it's Core

by Sourcountryer (orphan_account)



Category: Fanfiction - Fandom, Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26192338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Sourcountryer
Summary: An essay about why writing fanfiction is valuable and just as worthwhile as wiriting original work.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Fanfiction isn't Cheap - it's Art at it's Core

** Writing Fanfiction isn’t Cheap – it’s Art at Its Core **

Very often writers of fanfiction are confronted with the statements which claim that writing fanfiction and publishing it on the internet is just a cheap hobby and that it is not worth anything. There are many issues that go into that statement, be they feminist, monetary, copyright related or capitalist. With about a dozen sub-topics hidden in that one statement, this essay argues only in defence of fanfiction as a whole: Fanfiction as an art form is just as relevant as novels published by Penguin, Harper Collins or Bloomsbury. And here is why:

Every once in a while a writer of fanfiction will tell their friends about what they do in their free time and will reap comments such as “So, you’re not writing any original stuff?” That is probably the most frequent comment, and it disqualifies a writer of fanfiction, as a non-professional. Even if said writer is it someone who as written several short stories, or someone who has written a story which is as long as _War and Peace_. “Don’t you want to be a real writer some day?” Is a question that is very often followed by the first one and it either makes the writer want to roll their eyes, or duck away and change the topic. On the one hand, one can understand why someone who only knows fictional texts as books sold in book shops would think that only published authors create stories worth reading. On the other hand, we have to take into account that not every author out there actually gets to publish their work through a big literary agency and a publishing house.

Whereas JK Rowling worked tirelessly for years to get her first _Harry Potter_ book published, some others may not have the energy to invest into publishing the traditional way. Consequently, self-publishing might be the answer for those people, and indeed there are plenty of writers who self-publish. It is not for everyone however, and big companies like Disney will answer to a non-licensed _Star Wars_ novel with an army of lawyers. As a consequence writers of fanfiction tend to use the internet and websites such as Tumblr, Fanfiction.Net, or the Hugo-Award winning site ArchiveOfOurOwn.org to roll their works out to the public, where they are accessible to everyone for free and can not be attacked by big companies, because nobody is making any money off those stories and characters. Those websites have become a corner stone of fan culture and a training ground for published-writers to be.

On a different note concerning the evolution of fanfiction, it has to be said that one of the first phenomena of fan culture are myths we all still know and love today. Just take the tales about King Arthur. The main character may have actually been a historical figure, but the legends revolving around him in his knights were picked up by hundreds of writers throughout the centuries and every single writer told and retold parts of the story they adored, changed some aspects or added new characters or plot points. Up to this day, every single film adaptation of Arthurian legend shows a different angle and it is at its core what fanfiction is about. And yet, nobody would accuse Guy Ritchie, the director of the 2017 movie _King Arthur – Legend of the Sword,_ of “just creating fanfiction.”

Another example that can be given for well-acclaimed fanfiction are writers like Diana Gabaldon, writers of historical fiction. These authors look at events that happened in the past, at people who actually lived, and they fill in the gaps with their own ideas and imagination, creating and re-creating worlds which thousands of people world-wide enjoy. In addition to that, we should not forget about E. L. James, whose _Fifty Shades of Grey_ books started off as _Twilight_ fanfiction.

Fanfiction as a genre may be frowned upon by some people, but the fact remains, that in terms of quality, length and freedom, there is no limit in the range of works you may find. There are fanfiction on every fandom in existence, be it the 1980’s movie _Labyrinth_ , old and new _Robin Hood_ adventures, _Harry Potter_ or _Sherlock Holmes_. It is also important to note, that fanfiction posted online are not always love stories or pornographic. Fanfiction include also politically and socially relevant topics, expressions of sexuality, trauma, horror stories, in-depth character studies, tales of war and just about any other topic out there. In many ways the community reading and writing fanfiction is more liberal and freer than the traditional publishing community, because these writers are not bound by political, religious or monetary constraints.

Taking everything into account, I truly believe that fanfiction as a whole is very often underrated and an art form like any other. Not only can everyone with and without a knack of talent be a writer and find fans of their work, but they also do not need to invest thousands of dollars or years of their lives into getting their work published. Furthermore, they avoid legal issues of publishing their works by not earning money with it, but by constant practice of their writing skills about a fictional world they’re familiar with. At any rate, fanfiction writers are no different from any other kind of writer when it comes to using and employing tropes, character types and well-used phrases and places, since every writer takes inspiration from previous literary exploits of people who went before them. Accordingly, fanfiction writers often _do_ become “real” writers. Even if they are not published, they are at liberty to write about any issue they want, publish it on the internet. This very last aspect is probably the most important one. Fanfiction has a broader more liberal spectrum than original fiction found in ordinary book shops and is therefore freer than printed fiction. It is art at its core, living the tradition of literature since the beginning of the written word.


End file.
